Edge Computing has become hot with the spread of IoT. What is the difference between Edge Computing and the cloud and traditional on-premises? Learn why edge computing is attracting attention.

Into the Age of Edge Computing

What is edge computing and why is it attracting attention? Let’s look at that.

What is edge computing?

Technologies such as mobile computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) are now indispensable for many industries. The most important part of these technologies is the transmission and processing of information, or IT. Edge computing is a distributed open IT architecture that enables these technologies where real-time information is critical.

Edge computing is characterized by distributed processing power. Edge computing does not send data to remote data centers. It processes data on the device itself, or on a computer or server that is located close to the device. This is intended to balance the load and reduce communication latency as much as possible.

The “edge” of edge computing means the edge of a computer network. If the center of the network is a cloud like a data center, the edge is IoT devices connected to the Internet, such as smartphones and tablets. Processing data close to these edges prevents the load from concentrating on network paths and data centers. This reduces latency and makes it more efficient when processing data.

Why edge computing is getting the spotlight

Why is it so important to “keep data close?”

With the advent of the IoT era, the amount of data handled by various devices is exploding. At the same time, it can be said that the speed and response of the required processing are increasing. Large data centers are required to handle large amounts of data. That’s why cloud computing has attracted attention. However, there is a slight time lag in the process of sending data over the Internet to the cloud, processing it, and returning it.

Sensor technology for robots and industrial equipment is evolving day by day, and the situation at that moment can be accurately captured. However, if there is a lime lag in the processing and response of data, sophisticated sensing will be meaningless.

Precision and complex movements require highly accurate IoT. To respond, you need to exchange information as close to real-time as possible.

Where is the Edge, Cloud, and On-Premises

So what exactly does the “edge” of edge computing mean?
In the first place, edge computing aims to eliminate delays in information analysis and its response and increase real-time performance. To that end, edge computing processes information at the “front line of the field” rather than on the cloud side.

For this reason, edge computing may be the opposite of centralized cloud computing. But in its original sense, what is contrasted with the cloud is on-premises.

So what’s the difference between edge computing and traditional on-premises?

Edge computing doesn’t process all data on-premises. The main purpose is to make the most of each benefit by separating what you can do on the edge side and what you should send to the cloud.

When large amounts of data need to be processed accurately, or information that requires more real-time is done at the edge, or on-premises. On the other hand, information that requires large-scale collaboration and aggregation, and information with low impact on processing speed, can be done in the cloud, which benefits from data management. It can be said that the original form of edge computing is to “accurately divide the role of where information is processed”.

5 Benefits of Edge Computing

So what exactly are the benefits of edge computing?

• Accessing a low-latency, real-time data processing

Cloud can result in a time lag of hundreds of milliseconds to seconds between sending data and processing and receiving it. For data that requires real-time performance, edge computing can be used to reduce the lag. This reduces the delay in data exchange and enables real-time data processing.

• The evolution and adoption of traffic optimization and stabilization

IoT will further increase data traffic in the future. If all this data is aggregated into the cloud, it is predicted that “data congestion” will occur in the communication path and data center. This data jam not only causes delays in sending and receiving data, but also risks causing failure to cloud services.

By using edge computing together, everything is not consolidated in the cloud, and if you process data on the edge side, it will eliminate congestion. Optimizing and stabilizing data traffic is another major benefit of edge computing.

• Reduced communication costs

When transferring large amounts of data to the cloud, of course, the volume of communication increases. This will cost you a lot of money to transfer data. By using edge computing together, communication costs can be reduced by reducing the amount of data and communication that must be sent to the cloud.

• Enhancing information security

When storing a lot of corporate information and personal information in the cloud, there are always security risks such as leaks and external attacks. However, in edge computing, processing data on the edge side does not require sending and receiving data from the cloud, reducing the risk of leakage.

• BCP Edge computing can also be a business continuity plan (BCP).

What if all your data is handled in the cloud and the cloud service goes down? Many businesses that require that data may not be able to stand.

In edge computing, if you handle the data you need on the edge side, you can continue to operate even if the cloud service goes down. In other words, it leads to BCP to introduce edge computing in businesses that should be restored and continued in the event of an emergency. In this way, the effective use of edge computing can also enhance the sustainability of your business.

In this way, there are various benefits of properly building and operating edge computing. The key is to determine where and how it is most beneficial.

The future of edge computing

We’ve shown you what edge computing is and how it can help you. As IoT becomes important in various fields and industries, expectations for edge computing are also increasing. IoT will spread further from now on, and it will become common sense. At that time, edge computing is the supporter.

Reference:

4 Factors Driving Edge Computing mainstream | Stratus

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